Speculative Truth

Henry Cavendish, Natural Philosophy, and the Rise of Modern Theoretical Science

Russell McCormmach

Speculative Truth

Henry Cavendish, Natural Philosophy, and the Rise of Modern Theoretical Science

Russell McCormmach

Description

With a never-before published paper by Lord Henry Cavendish, as well as a biography on him, this book offers a fascinating discourse on the rise of scientific attitudes and ways of knowing. A pioneering British physicist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Cavendish was widely considered to be the first full-time scientist in the modern sense. Through the lens of this unique thinker and writer, this book is about the birth of modern science.

Speculative Truth

Henry Cavendish, Natural Philosophy, and the Rise of Modern Theoretical Science

Russell McCormmach

Table of Contents

List of IllustrationsPreface and AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart One. Natural Philosophy 1. Natural Philosophers2. Philosophies3. TheoriesPart Two. A Great Question 4. Historical Setting of Heat and Mechanics5. Henry Cavendish's Researches6. The Mechanical Theory of Heat7. The QuestionAppendix. Henry Cavendish's Manuscript on the Mechanical Theory of HeatEditorial NotePreliminary Sketch of the ManuscriptFoul Copy of the ManuscriptFair Copy of the ManuscriptBibliographyEndnotes for Preface, Introduction, and Part OneEndnotes for Part TwoEndnotes for Appendix TextEndnotes for Appendix Document "Heat"Index

Speculative Truth

Henry Cavendish, Natural Philosophy, and the Rise of Modern Theoretical Science

Russell McCormmach

Reviews and Awards

"The hundreds of references in the notes and the extensive bibliography are a researcher's paradise...highly recommended." --Choice